But does it smell like someone's online rights being called into question, or has Your Rights Online become a catch-all for "evidence of police state" stories?
You could, say, read up on the statistics they give you. The site has all sorts of fun info on exactly how their RNG works, and daily stats on the randomness of the numbers presented.
*Why* should Nintendo bother trying to reach out to hardcore gamers? They're the same group who have spent the last decade ignoring Nintendo, calling them "kiddy", and generally not giving Nintendo their business. Why should Nintendo continue to try and play ball with them? Why should they give a flying flip what hardcore gamers think of their press conferences?
There are a lot of various diseases and psychological states that have a medium-to-long list of risk factors. Who says that violent video games CAN'T be one?
For example, risk factors for a heart attack include high blood pressure, a bad diet, family history, and lack of exercise. Obviously, having any one of those isn't necessarily a bad thing by itself. It's when you combine a whole bunch of them that you need to be worried.
I mean, all the people who buy Grand Theft Auto can't be all psychopaths. But a few might be... and more than likely there are a bunch of other signs that the rest of those buyers aren't going to share.
There are five people in my house: music downloaders, torrenters, online video game players among them. Only once did they temporarily suspend service: it was a week where, as a whole, we did 45GB down and 30some GB up, and got flagged as possibly having become a zombie. A quick call on a Sunday inquiring about it resolved this: we double-checked everyone's PC for viruses/malware to be safe, informed them that we have a couple of "power users" and a network router covering all house activity connecting into their cable modem, and they turned us back on again.
If you RTFA a bit closer, you notice that it's almost exclusively Hasbro mentioned as doing stuff like this. No mention of the whole Settlers-of-Catan group of games which are trending in the opposite direction, and only a passing mention that Hasbro's market share has dropped quite a bit in not a very long period of time.
You can go into any game store and ask for a short game, or a long one, or a brain game, or a party game, or an offbeat card game. No matter what the question, the response probably won't be a Hasbro game. After all, Hasbro's spent most of its time since buying up the whole mainstream game industry releasing Uno Unnecessary Card Shooting Device and Monopoly Look At Our Metal Tokens Edition instead of coming up with new ideas.
Yes indeed, let's put every tax dollar toward protecting our borders. That way, we know we'll be safe until the roads deteriorate to nothing due to lack of funding.
You're disappointed that they didn't even talk about DRM?
Here's one good reason why not: THE COMPUTER DOES NOT WORK CORRECTLY. Upgrading with stuff he already owned, he quite simply couldn't, despite Windows telling him that practically everything would be compatible.
Sound is a requirement before breaching the issue of unencumbered music. You may have different priorities... like getting in an unrelated jab at DRM.
But then there's the "what happened last night" aspect of it. If something crazy happened on TV last night, you can guarantee it'll be on YouTube the following morning. It's this kind of archival aspect that YouTube took on that makes it so popular: because much like Google, you could find anything on YouTube. Not anymore.
Pretty much every bank in the country has already disallowed the use of their accounts for online gambling. (I should know, I've tried two or three times now, and I'd much rather not give my account information to some approved affiliate who I've never heard of.)
This bill isn't really relevant; just the government being late to the party, barking orders, then wondering why people are looking at them funny. Par for the course that the government is the last to react to the trend.
Are all the candidates listed? Do all the pieces of paper match the candidates? Are all the numbers right? Can someone make dupes and mess this up? Are the right options on the ballot going to the right precincts who are supposed to vote on the issue?
(2) The voters indicate their vote by writing on the pieces of paper.
Do they just write down a name? First or last or full name? Or do they fill in one of those Scantron bubbles for each? Do they fill in zero, one, two, or all of them? What if they put an "X" in the bubble instead of filling it in? What if a stray pencil mark across the sheet marks one of the ovals? What if the person doesn't make a choice for EVERY race? What if they vote in one that doesn't apply to them?
(3) The votes are counted by human beings. This takes a couple of hours, and it's a fun night out for people who otherwise might have relatively boring clerking jobs (and for the 85 year olds it's something they look forward to every year).
What if someone messes up in the count? What if they go one two three... 99, 400, one two three... 99... oh crap which hundred was I on? What if someone deliberately screws it up?
(4) If the vote's a bit close - you count it again! On the night, using the same human beings, until everyone in the hall is happy. Even on a really bad day you get to the party by 04:00.
How close is "a bit close"? Are you 100% certain that EVERYONE in the room counted right? What if you get a different winner than the first pass/second pass/42nd pass? What if someone/some group of people decides to say "I'm not happy, recount!" until the vote swings the way they want?
(5) On the exceedingly rare occasions when things have gone seriously pear-shaped there's a physical paper audit trail... er, you just get a court order to count the votes again, which takes another couple of hours.
A court order in a couple of hours in the middle of the night... right, that happens. Grab the nearest newspaper, count every vowel and consonant on the front page, and tell me how long it takes you to finish. When you're done, on penalty of jail time, can you say that the counts you have are 100% correct?
---Er, is this supposed to be rocket science, or what?
It should be rocket science. The very core of what makes us a democracy is the concept that everyone gets a say. If there's even the impression that this does not take place, it could fall completely apart.
OK, the over/under on the first end-around slam on Morgan Webb was five posts. If you had the under, you win! Collect your prize at the G4-would-die-if-you'd-just-shut-up-about-them cashier window!
Nevermind a validation crack. What happens if there's an exploit in the wild that can infect a computer before you can get it up and get patches and such applied to it? Remember when XP came around, and the conventional wisdom was "unplug your network cable/modem cable before installing"? What happens when the OS needs to call home to make sure you're not Pirate Pete?
Slashdot Mirror
Or, quit being a damn cheapskate and go pay 20 bucks for a keyboard!
Oh, you're you on a laptop? Quit typing so damn hard!
But does it smell like someone's online rights being called into question, or has Your Rights Online become a catch-all for "evidence of police state" stories?
You could, say, read up on the statistics they give you. The site has all sorts of fun info on exactly how their RNG works, and daily stats on the randomness of the numbers presented.
This may be flamebait-worthy, but here goes:
*Why* should Nintendo bother trying to reach out to hardcore gamers? They're the same group who have spent the last decade ignoring Nintendo, calling them "kiddy", and generally not giving Nintendo their business. Why should Nintendo continue to try and play ball with them? Why should they give a flying flip what hardcore gamers think of their press conferences?
There are a lot of various diseases and psychological states that have a medium-to-long list of risk factors. Who says that violent video games CAN'T be one?
For example, risk factors for a heart attack include high blood pressure, a bad diet, family history, and lack of exercise. Obviously, having any one of those isn't necessarily a bad thing by itself. It's when you combine a whole bunch of them that you need to be worried.
I mean, all the people who buy Grand Theft Auto can't be all psychopaths. But a few might be... and more than likely there are a bunch of other signs that the rest of those buyers aren't going to share.
Western Ohio Roadrunner works fine.
There are five people in my house: music downloaders, torrenters, online video game players among them. Only once did they temporarily suspend service: it was a week where, as a whole, we did 45GB down and 30some GB up, and got flagged as possibly having become a zombie. A quick call on a Sunday inquiring about it resolved this: we double-checked everyone's PC for viruses/malware to be safe, informed them that we have a couple of "power users" and a network router covering all house activity connecting into their cable modem, and they turned us back on again.
If you RTFA a bit closer, you notice that it's almost exclusively Hasbro mentioned as doing stuff like this. No mention of the whole Settlers-of-Catan group of games which are trending in the opposite direction, and only a passing mention that Hasbro's market share has dropped quite a bit in not a very long period of time.
You can go into any game store and ask for a short game, or a long one, or a brain game, or a party game, or an offbeat card game. No matter what the question, the response probably won't be a Hasbro game. After all, Hasbro's spent most of its time since buying up the whole mainstream game industry releasing Uno Unnecessary Card Shooting Device and Monopoly Look At Our Metal Tokens Edition instead of coming up with new ideas.
Yes indeed, let's put every tax dollar toward protecting our borders. That way, we know we'll be safe until the roads deteriorate to nothing due to lack of funding.
geesh.
You're disappointed that they didn't even talk about DRM?
Here's one good reason why not: THE COMPUTER DOES NOT WORK CORRECTLY. Upgrading with stuff he already owned, he quite simply couldn't, despite Windows telling him that practically everything would be compatible.
Sound is a requirement before breaching the issue of unencumbered music. You may have different priorities... like getting in an unrelated jab at DRM.
But then there's the "what happened last night" aspect of it. If something crazy happened on TV last night, you can guarantee it'll be on YouTube the following morning. It's this kind of archival aspect that YouTube took on that makes it so popular: because much like Google, you could find anything on YouTube. Not anymore.
I've never seen the flu shut down the New York Stock Exchange, or air travel coast-to-coast.
Just playing devil's advocate.
This is a perfect time to break out the Variety-speak, and you let it go completely.
WALKMAN MAN WALKED, MAN!
Pretty much every bank in the country has already disallowed the use of their accounts for online gambling. (I should know, I've tried two or three times now, and I'd much rather not give my account information to some approved affiliate who I've never heard of.) This bill isn't really relevant; just the government being late to the party, barking orders, then wondering why people are looking at them funny. Par for the course that the government is the last to react to the trend.
(1) Ballot papers are just that, pieces of paper.
... er, you just get a court order to count the votes again, which takes another couple of hours.
Are all the candidates listed? Do all the pieces of paper match the candidates? Are all the numbers right? Can someone make dupes and mess this up? Are the right options on the ballot going to the right precincts who are supposed to vote on the issue?
(2) The voters indicate their vote by writing on the pieces of paper.
Do they just write down a name? First or last or full name? Or do they fill in one of those Scantron bubbles for each? Do they fill in zero, one, two, or all of them? What if they put an "X" in the bubble instead of filling it in? What if a stray pencil mark across the sheet marks one of the ovals? What if the person doesn't make a choice for EVERY race? What if they vote in one that doesn't apply to them?
(3) The votes are counted by human beings. This takes a couple of hours, and it's a fun night out for people who otherwise might have relatively boring clerking jobs (and for the 85 year olds it's something they look forward to every year).
What if someone messes up in the count? What if they go one two three... 99, 400, one two three... 99... oh crap which hundred was I on? What if someone deliberately screws it up?
(4) If the vote's a bit close - you count it again! On the night, using the same human beings, until everyone in the hall is happy. Even on a really bad day you get to the party by 04:00.
How close is "a bit close"? Are you 100% certain that EVERYONE in the room counted right? What if you get a different winner than the first pass/second pass/42nd pass? What if someone/some group of people decides to say "I'm not happy, recount!" until the vote swings the way they want?
(5) On the exceedingly rare occasions when things have gone seriously pear-shaped there's a physical paper audit trail
A court order in a couple of hours in the middle of the night... right, that happens. Grab the nearest newspaper, count every vowel and consonant on the front page, and tell me how long it takes you to finish. When you're done, on penalty of jail time, can you say that the counts you have are 100% correct?
---Er, is this supposed to be rocket science, or what?
It should be rocket science. The very core of what makes us a democracy is the concept that everyone gets a say. If there's even the impression that this does not take place, it could fall completely apart.
If you had bothered to actually read their website, you would know that they had decided to stop making them with any sort of regularity.
...Internet Explorer is present at 100% of British universities and colleges.
OK, the over/under on the first end-around slam on Morgan Webb was five posts. If you had the under, you win! Collect your prize at the G4-would-die-if-you'd-just-shut-up-about-them cashier window!
Wait a minute... now you're telling me Apple outsourced to Jupiter, too?!
The other is the trained monkey.
I'm sure all those Google searches from that tiny little search thing in the address bar fills their Fox-hole quite nicely.
Seriously?
N-Wii?
Ennui?
Talk about picking the name most likely to give the fanboys a field day...
Nevermind a validation crack. What happens if there's an exploit in the wild that can infect a computer before you can get it up and get patches and such applied to it? Remember when XP came around, and the conventional wisdom was "unplug your network cable/modem cable before installing"? What happens when the OS needs to call home to make sure you're not Pirate Pete?
Forget registering BringBackPorn.com. What about Porn.com? And what in the world do you put on porn.com once you can't put, well, porn on it?
Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on election campaigns, but we're suddenly concerned about the cost of voting machines?
Gasp! You mean two Japanese companies sell better in Japan than the competing American company? Well color me original Game Boy pea green and yellow!